During the engineering work for the supersonic Concorde in England, "Thunderbirds" TV series creator Gerry Anderson was visiting the main facility one day. Someone asked him what he did for a living. Feeling massively outranked by all the engineering talent surrounding him there, he quietly replied that he made children's TV shows. Asked which ones, he mentioned Thunderbirds.
Within minutes he was surrounded by Concorde engineers who wanted to talk to him and shake his hand, many of whom told him it was his shows that had inspired them toward engineering careers, because they wanted to actually build the planes and rockets he had in his series. He was flabbergasted.
The original Star Trek had a similar effect on many career choices.
Now of course, TV mostly inspires people toward careers as lazy bums or crooks.
Star Trek was the sort of thing that inspired me to pursue a lifetime of work with computers and computer programming. In my childhood, it was devoured alongside Apollo
Because of Star Trek I learned that more than anything else, my mind, logic, and proper methods of reasoning were the most powerful tools at my disposal
To this day Star Trek and it's descendants in the narrative tend to occupy more television time in my family than just about any other source of video entertainment
@juneussell You know, years ago the networks ran shows like "Watch Mr. Wizard" and "Discovery" which were pure science/education, and a long series of Leonard Bernstein teaching concerts in prime time (which are quite remarkable to watch even now -- he was a genius and wonderful teacher even if reportedly a pretty awful person). Are there any equivalent serious teaching programs aimed at children now from the major networks? A few on PBS of course, but a vast torrent of fake "reality" shows focusing on crime families, mass murderers, "aren't we rich?", gang bangers, "cooking" contests and ... the like. An occasional light flaring in the darkness doesn't mean it's still not night.
@lauren Your post was about Thunderbirds, which wasn’t overtly educational, and Star Trek, which wasn’t for kids - the point it made, which I loved, was that you just never know and can’t foresee what kids are going to latch on to. There’s plenty of good stuff still being made: I love these for eg https://www.ted.com/watch/ted-ed , though with a lot more of everything available it may not be as foregrounded.
@lauren@Peternimmo
Not very far from where I live, there is a school which has its “Enterprise Centre” housed in part of the site named “The Kirk Building”.
@lauren don't sell the current crop of television too short. #StarTrekStrangeNewWorlds is both beautiful and inspiring, and #StarTrekProdigy, while weak in a number of places for adults, is really great for getting younger people excited about space travel and ideals like the Federation.
@lauren glad I read the whole post so I could remove my fav star, lol. You know that most of the media you get recommended is based on things you personally chose to watch in the past, right?
@Galletasalada Don't think I understand your point. And as I've worked inside Google, I do have a pretty good understanding of how YT recommendations work at least.
@lauren So you understand well that you're being recommended shows that depict "lazy bums" and "crooks" because that's what you've been watching before. I find that "lazy bums" and "crooks" are actually not useful categories and people who are labeled as such are usually some of the most upstanding members of their communities around.
@Galletasalada Ah, I'm not even talking about YT or recommendations in this instance. I'm talking about all the fake "reality" shows about rich bums (and I will use the word bum) living it up doing nothing but partying, and all the shows glamorizing organized crime, criminal gangs and murderous thugs, and other similar professions that get all the big ratings and that I studiously avoid watching on any channels or streaming services.
@lauren You do realize that the entertainment industry is an industry though, right, and that they’re selling a product that people are consuming? Most writers have faith in their audience, they believe they are adults who can see a fictional character partying or doing crime (which does not work the way in real life as how it’s depicted on TV) without wanting to engage in this behavior themselves. It sounds like you maybe haven’t done much examination of the social categories of “criminal gangs and murderous thugs” but I guess everyone has to come to that on their own. Have a nice day.
Inspiration is an individual aspect, & cannot be predicted.
Many scientists labored to their death in obscurity only to have their principles become the foundation of science as we know it.
If they had only known that their ideas would become stepping stones leading to the uplift of humanity, they would have been as shocked as Gerry Anderson.
Triggering genius in those around us. That is not the province of linear beings, but it should be in the back of our minds teaching children.
I think we are lucky to have our story tellers who inspire us. Star Trek continues to have that effect on me, especially as an example of people collaborating, mentoring, and problem solving in the workplace.
I would say media still inspires us today though. We will hear what the kids in twenty years will say.
@lauren stop watching TV for adults and start watching tv for kids. My kid wants to be a scientist/inventor because of The Octonauts and Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs (fair warning, both shows are simultaneously great and really bad).
@lauren
Gerry Anderson's UFO series is outstanding. I only discovered it as an adult, but I can see how influential it could be for young minds to digest. #UFO#Shado1
@shansterable UFO is quite an interesting series (apart from having one of the highest energy openings of any show of the era). It also was probably one of the darkest series ever produced. Aliens coming to Earth to steal human body parts? Yeah, OK. And Straker is one complex and nasty character. And purple wigs, courtesy of Sylvia.
@lauren
The opening sequence is a masterpiece. Sylvia's costume designs are primo! Yes, a dark-themed series punctuated with cheeky sexual references. I own the whole series on DVD.
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